[NEohioPAL]"I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT..." at Actors Summit Cleveland Jewish News Review

Tue Jul 23 09:11:42 PDT 2002

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Entertaining musical revue 
roasts modern relationships

By FRAN HELLER Freelance Writer

Dating and mating rituals may not have changed very much since Adam first met 
Eve. 

Or so, "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" would have us believe. This 
clever musical revue about the trials and tribulations of modern 
relationships is at Actors' Summit in Hudson, Ohio, through July 28. 
The entertaining show, with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by 
Jimmy Roberts, may not tell us anything we already didn't know about how men 
and women connect in an angst-filled, neurotic age, but it provides a lot of 
chuckles along the way. 

What director A. Neil Thackaberry's production lacks in polish, including a 
lackluster musical combo and some clunky scene changes, is more than 
compensated for by a skilled quartet of actors whose well-honed comedic 
talents overshadow any variance in vocal abilities.

Andrew Brelich, Jenn Goodson, Kari Kandel and Keith Stevens play a variety of 
men and women. Appearing in short scenes, some more humorous than others, the 
quartet navigate the emotional minefield of love and marriage. Some 30 
vignettes ranging from the first date, upended expectations and fear of 
commitment, through wedding bells, child rearing and divorce, make the show 
too long, and the format wears thin, particularly in the less funny second 
act. 

Stevens and Goodson are a perfect pair in a satirical takeoff on dating, in 
which the too-busy couple fast forward from their first meeting to the end of 
the relationship. They are joined by Kandel and Brelich in an amusing takeoff 
on an engagement celebration in which parents' giddy expectations of wedding 
bells are foiled by their not-quite-ready-to-commit son and 
my-career-comes-first future daughter- in-law. 

Goodson, a recent graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College and a fine musical 
comedy actress, is a riot in the not-so-undesirable state of being "Always a 
Bridesmaid." Stevens is equally droll as a one-armed convict and serial 
killer who, incarcerated for life and still single at 50, scares a reluctant 
couple straight to the altar in an interfaith singles gathering at the local 
state prison.

Robert Stegmiller's minimalist set serves in a variety of inventive ways, 
including four chairs on wheels that simulate the family car. The intimacy of 
the theatre suits the chamber musical revue well and it is a credit to the 
actors that every word of the fast-flying lyrics could be heard without 
miking. With as many costume changes as scenes, Mary Jo Alexander's design 
palette is a running source of delight. 

"I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" opened off-Broadway in 1996 and is 
now the longest running musical revue in off-Broadway history.
It's a fun show and it resonates at whatever stage of the mating game you're 
in. 

Actors' Summit Theater is located at 86 Owen Brown Street in downtown Hudson. 
For information and tickets, call 1-330-342-0800 or visit the website at 
www.actorssummit.org

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<HTML>Entertaining musical revue 
 roasts modern relationships
 
 By FRAN HELLER Freelance Writer
 
 Dating and mating rituals may not have changed very much since Adam first met Eve. 
 
 Or so, "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" would have us believe. This clever musical revue about the trials and tribulations of modern relationships is at Actors' Summit in Hudson, Ohio, through July 28. 
 The entertaining show, with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts, may not tell us anything we already didn't know about how men and women connect in an angst-filled, neurotic age, but it provides a lot of chuckles along the way. 
 
 What director A. Neil Thackaberry's production lacks in polish, including a lackluster musical combo and some clunky scene changes, is more than compensated for by a skilled quartet of actors whose well-honed comedic talents overshadow any variance in vocal abilities.
 
 Andrew Brelich, Jenn Goodson, Kari Kandel and Keith Stevens play a variety of men and women. Appearing in short scenes, some more humorous than others, the quartet navigate the emotional minefield of love and marriage. Some 30 vignettes ranging from the first date, upended expectations and fear of commitment, through wedding bells, child rearing and divorce, make the show too long, and the format wears thin, particularly in the less funny second act. 
 
 Stevens and Goodson are a perfect pair in a satirical takeoff on dating, in which the too-busy couple fast forward from their first meeting to the end of the relationship. They are joined by Kandel and Brelich in an amusing takeoff on an engagement celebration in which parents' giddy expectations of wedding bells are foiled by their not-quite-ready-to-commit son and my-career-comes-first future daughter- in-law. 
 
 Goodson, a recent graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College and a fine musical comedy actress, is a riot in the not-so-undesirable state of being "Always a Bridesmaid." Stevens is equally droll as a one-armed convict and serial killer who, incarcerated for life and still single at 50, scares a reluctant couple straight to the altar in an interfaith singles gathering at the local state prison.
 
 Robert Stegmiller's minimalist set serves in a variety of inventive ways, including four chairs on wheels that simulate the family car. The intimacy of the theatre suits the chamber musical revue well and it is a credit to the actors that every word of the fast-flying lyrics could be heard without miking. With as many costume changes as scenes, Mary Jo Alexander's design palette is a running source of delight. 
 
 "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" opened off-Broadway in 1996 and is now the longest running musical revue in off-Broadway history.
 It's a fun show and it resonates at whatever stage of the mating game you're in. 
 
 Actors' Summit Theater is located at 86 Owen Brown Street in downtown Hudson. For information and tickets, call 1-330-342-0800 or visit the website at www.actorssummit.org</HTML>

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